Elgar, du Plessis deflate West Indies

Fri, Dec 26, '14

Dean Elgar's third Test century and an unbeaten 99 from Faf du Plessis put South Africa in a dominant position at the close of day one in Port Elizabeth. On a slow pitch that offered a bit of sideways movement and uneven bounce, both batsmen benefited from missed chances during the second session and powered on in the third to propel South Africa to 270 for 2 at stumps.

Kenroy Peters, the debutant left-arm seamer, struck in the 75th over to have Elgar edging behind, but by then he had made his highest Test score and added 179 for the second wicket with du Plessis. At 226 for 2 with the second new ball imminent, West Indies had a small window to force their way back into the game, but du Plessis and Hashim Amla saw the day through without too much bother. They may have been aided in their cause by West Indies only taking the new ball in the 88th and final over of the day.